T5 lighting question.

[-TS-Vash]

I just got a new T5 system its a Current Nova Extreme T5 Lighting LINK http://www.saltycritter.com/lighting/current/current-nova-extreme-t5.htm
thats the one i have but not where i got it. Any way my fire & ice zoanthiads blue looks gray now and i dont like that since they cover a huge area in my tank is it the bulbs or will i just have to deal with it i had pcs before so i dont know much about T5s can i get better bulbs if so what type its the 216 watt 4 54 watt bulb system i ran the lights 460 nm front 10k 460 nm 10k to back would it look better any other way any help would be appreciated thanks. Oh BTW do you think i could keep sps in there with that light all my tank info is by my name.

 

[horkn]

my guess its the bulbs. i bet they are not ati

 

[-TS-Vash]

ati?

 

[Bathypelagic]

What were you running for lights before?

 

[-TS-Vash]

Before i had 6 65 watt pc lights and they were 2 420nm 2 460nm and 2 10k bulbs all different brands.

 

[horkn]

ati is a brand. i bet yours are "current" brand

 

[UCanDoIt]

D&D, Geisemann & ATi are made by the same company. You get better performance with these brands. The typical setup is:

Back
- Blue+
- AquaBlue or GE Sunlight
- AquaBlue
- Blue+
Front

 

[-TS-Vash]

blue+ aquablue what are these i have never heard of them is it just the name of the lights in those brands can you give me a link to a good site that sells those bulbs? And yes mine are current brand bulbs. Do you think the bulbs you talked about would bring the blue back out in my fire and ice zoanthiads?

 

[UCanDoIt]

The bulbs would give bright colors like what you see in your Avitar. You can get them at SeedsEtc.com or ReefGeek.com

 

[-TS-Vash]

Thanks.

 

[UCanDoIt]

BluePlus is also called AtinicPlus, most to the T5 owners just call this bulb Blue+

You may want to just buy 2x BluePlus to replace your Atinics that came with your fixture and see how that works out for you. If still not blue enough, then switch out one of the 10K with the Atinic that came with your lighthood. This way you don't spend too much money all at once.

 

[-TS-Vash]

My blue mushrooms and other things look fine its just the fire and ice though i dont have any other blue zoas so hopefully that will work im going to order 2 blue + and 2 aqua blue blubs. Thanks. And do you think i could keep SPS?

 

[UCanDoIt]

Be really careful with Mushrooms and some LPS, they may need to be kept at the bottom of the tank or in a partially shaded area or they can potentially get bleached out over time. T5s are great for SPS and clams, which are high light inensity.

 

[-TS-Vash]

edit it made copies.

 

[-TS-Vash]

I read something about overdriving the blubs with a icecap ballast what does that do? Could i do it on mine would it help?

 

[UCanDoIt]

If you were going to do retro fit in a canopy, then icecap ballast are great as you can get 80W out of a 54W bulb. This is great for very high light demanding SPS corals & clams. No, you can't do it on a regular lighthood.

 

[-TS-Vash]

ok thanks.

 

[horkn]

aqualuxlighting.com has the good bulbs as well. they price match, so, any deal you find they match. and in some cases, they are better priced from the get go..

I think with the hood you have, being not individual parabolic reflectors, you "should" be fine with any shrooms.

 

[-TS-Vash]

I hope so i have 14 different kinds.